#9108 - Dec 1991

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Digital Archiving Completed by the Ethnography Lab, A University of Toronto Anthropology Initiative and Produced in Collaboration with David Perlman/Wholenote Media Inc between July-December 2015. Page twelve, Kensington Market Drum December 12 1991 RN}G- ( ' W\th~olJ ~ -'\ '\ THE BIRTHDAY DOG by Joshua Fish-Smith The door creaked as it opened, and I felt a cold, stale gust of wind. I opened it all the way ·and there were no lights on. I heard a little bark and then the light went on. Everybody stood up and said, "Surprise!" There was a whol·e bunch of presents on the table. Everybody had birthday hats on and then I remembered it was my birthday. We had a cake and ice cream. -stell band by sophia perlman i go to stell band it is wondrfull it is at setlment hose (unavrsaty setlment hose) my techres name is haris he is grate. thar are gran up classis too. i play saprano pan thar are saprano pan and led pan and bas~ i am not shre abaot saprano and led pan but i do know the -difrinsis of saprano -- and base the base is bigr and · depr _!hey are made of oil cans the end Soprano pans, steel band, $ettlement house fD)@f@1r @est W~csdJ And rev · Antonio a.ge II ' I opened the presents. I opened the biggest one first--it was a puppy. I forgot about all . _ the other presents. I named the dog Pudgy ~ 'cause he had a flat face. co J::. ~ Never again will I have such a birthday .9 party. 0 J::. c. Canadian Guide Dogs POEM Love at First Sight I look , I see I fall in Love · I'm shy, I'm scared I'm in Love By Emily for the Blind, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing guide dogs to visuallyimpaired Canadians, is looking for people to · foster . puppies. for · approximately 12 months. If interested, please call (613) 692-7777. FOR THE CHILDREN Ballet classes: Saturday . morning, children ages 6 and up. Instructor Valerie Scannura (.graduate of National Ballet School teacher's course). College at Bathurst, phone 782-9382 (adult classes also). SNOWFLAKE Child Care Centre _·presents ••• A SILENT AUCTION ,Saturday December 14th, 1991 7:00pm to 9:00pm festavl of lights by sophia perlman (helpt by luca he helpt by saonding the words all thea he is 3) me and my brothr and my mothr and fathr all partisapat . ih the FEST A VL OF LIGHTS and it is wondrfull it hapnss 4 days befor crismas and YOU CAN BE IN IT! THE END. Bloorco Veterinary Clinic Consultation by appointment Monday to Saturday Health care, surgery, and acupuncture Bloor· Street West block and a half east of Dufferin) 537-9677 Dr. Jack at "THE -LAST TEMPTATION" 12 Kensington -. Avenue (in Kensington Market- Spadina & Dundas) - Music to follow Auction · by STEVENCaod nm RED ROCKETS 10:00 pm to 1:00 am ADMISSION: $2.50
Digital Archiving Completed by the Ethnography Lab, A University of Toronto Anthropology Initiative and Produced in Collaboration with David Perlman/Wholenote Media Inc between July-December 2015. December 12 1991 Kensington Market Drum, page thirteen PAGAN WAY by Mary Fish Miracle·, Respect, Sacred I said in last month's edition that this time I would talk about medicines, alters and rituals as if there would be enough time or space here to really do justice to these issues. There isn't. After a month of research into the sub- · ject and a lot of personal searching I do not believe that I am qualified to write what needs to be said. There are so many possibilities in the world as to what is medicine, how to build an alter, and what rituals work for whom that I feel that I don't want to impose my view of what is "right" or "wrong" on anyone. The truth is that I don't believe there is a right or wrong to one's spirituality so long as that encompasses respect for the rest of the worlds right to safety and security. Having said that, I do want to talk .about miracles, respect and sacredness. I also want to define an alter, medicines and rituals in my own terms and perhaps this .will motivate ot~.r readers to do the same. '· . Many years ago, when I was '.a single Mom with four small sons, ' I decided to go back to school. On the morning of my first day I was running around my home, like crazy, trying to get my sons ready for daycare and school and myself ready for the big event. At just about the point that I was going to throw up my arms and cave in, one of the children yeBed, "We don't have any socks, Mom." My mind racing in panic, the time to leave closing · in on me, I ran downstairs to check the dryer just on the off chance there might be some in there. If there weren't, I didn't have a clue where I would begin to look. As I opened up the dryer door I was thinking that if they were not in there I was not going to school, I was going back to bed. There was no way that I would have time to get these children to two different places in the west end and get all the way down town in time for school. I could see that I never would be able to do it. I opened the dryer door and four pairs of clean white socks fell out. Now if you have ever done laundry, you know that washers and dryers eat socks. For me this was no less than a major miracle. I made it to school that day and finished out the whole year on . that · one event. Evidence that I was doing what I was supposed to be d_oing. I WRITER WANTE:D . Write theatre reviews for drum this season call363 DRUM To me a miracle is not the parting of the sea or changing a staff into a snake so much as it is the extraordinary events that happen to all of us that get us through every day life. Love, children, friendship. Having food to feed everyone who needs to be fed that day always gives me a sense of awe. I am still amazed when I tum on the shower that I am so wealthy as to be graced with hot running water. There are so many things that we take for granted in this society that we may not even . have the right to have, even if they were acc~ssible to everyone. The fact they are riot should indicate to us that we must respect what we do have and make every effort to see that everyone has the same· richness of life. • • • • • • • • • • • This brings me to "respect". At some point in time "respect for our elders" has gotten lost in much of our society. When I was a child in the 50's and 60's it was on its way out because so much of our parents behaviour was being questioned. They were in a .transitional period from total faith in the patriarchy to the possibility that much of what they had learned was oppressive and hypocritical. We w~re at a point where we ' saw them as the latter and that .. they had no right to expect us to "buy" the party line. Some say that this is normal and has always been that way. I don't ag.ree. I believe that there is / much information available to prove that at one time the young respected the elders in their community because the elders earned and deserved respect. Not because it was beat or taught into them but because· the youth saw value in what the elders knew and want~¥~ to learn from them. I believe the young started to become disenchanted when we began to separate the spirit and the material. Today our elders are portrayed as a threat to us. Since· the Inquisition we have been getting further away from the understanding that we need those in our society who have a vision which only comes from spending a long time on this planet. The. . elders in all societies were the first to be destroyed by colonialists because they were the ones who held the ancient tribal knowledge which would keep the young from believing in the ·church. Where they weren't · HOUSEKEEPER for Hire. Reliable, R~onsible, Really Cute. Call 864-0185 Ask for Nancy. killed, they were and are, discredited and portrayed as backward or foolish. Their knowledge was called "uneducated", evil superstition, old wives tales, myths and fables. As spirit and material have been separated so have youth and elder been alienatM. In our present social structure we perpetuate this. We call youth irresponsible and useless, we make judgments about and for their lives without consulting them. We don't seek the advice of our elders in most situations and we seem to . see our elders(particularly wimmin) as useless and backward. Even the words old and elder no longer conjure up positive images, instead we think in terms that are far less than respectful. I believe that the desire to care for and learn from our elders is instinctive in all of us. I also think that we have nearly lost' faith in our youth, the media has glamourized only the absolute "worst" or "best" elements in the young today, but we want to love and believe in our future with all our children. In everyday circumstances I find the children of today incredible and inspiring. · I see examples of the young having. an awareness that I am in awe of. In my College, at Home and in my community I am involved with many young people who speak about racism, sexism, the environment and other issues with an eloquence which blows Il!e away. And the everyday acts of heroism are astounding. One everyday event, as an example, happened a while ago in front of my eyes and I am still moved by it. I was stopped at a red light in my van one day at Bay and Richmond Sts. There was a very tiny elderly womyn crossing the street. She was going very slowly. It was rush hour. A young man (perhaps 18) was jogging past her in the middle of the intersection, when he noticed that the light was changing. Without thinking about it at all, he stopped dead, back tracl,ced two steps, raised , his arm up over and beh~~d the womyn and stared at the four lanes of traffic with a glare. This womyn never knew that he ,., -0- / \ crystals, books, music, herbs, ritual tools, jewellery ... 79A Harbord St. Toronto, Ont. M5S 1 G4 (416) 975-8961 Fax (416) 975-5261 MARY ANDERSON 55i1fll Find the drum coupon and do what it says, ~ and a' DRUM BRICK . up to 35 words is yours in the Jan. 30 DRUM had done this. He walked behind and beside her right through the green light until she reached safety. He dropped his arm and jogged on. Instinct. He was not doing this for any other reason than that it was what he was supposed to do. NONE of th~ drivers in any of the four lanes of traffic went through the light, even after the two had passed our lanes. I am sure that each of us was touched by this simple act by a young man in today!s world. - · This act was sacred. What is sacred? • • • • • • • • • • • To chose specific items, i.e. church, chalice, fire, etc. is to separate, ·prioritize and unequalize n~ture. Sacred is that which is most important to the individual at any given moment, i.e. two year olds teddy bears are. Neither is more or less. Intoxication was once a rare and special event. Today, however, sobriety is more likely to bring us focus and clarity. The truly democratic nature of the spirit requires that we each see different things as sacred. !f we all see the same thing as sacred, each other sacred thing is ignored or destroyed. Scarcity and abundance, a little wine or a lot of water. Intimacy and universality, My child or all children. Tenderness and anger, breast feeding or boycotting infant formula. What these exampies illustrate is that when we say all things are sacred, this is not rhetorical or cliche, only a difficult concept for many of us to understand in this contorted society. It is however the truth and we must come to know this if we are to survive. See What is Sacred, p. 16 ADOPT-A-PET (Madison) Dear Kensington Drum In case you can spare some space in your paper this month for an "Adopt-A-Pet" please meet Madison. He's a lively, rambunctious ''pedigree" mongrel. A better name for him might be Fref!Way or Tramp. Our Toronto Humane Society staff keep him well in hand though. "' . 1here._'s such a wide variety of animals and birds at I 1· River Street (corner of Queen) in Toronto, that you really should 'Just Married Jacqueline Yvette Plouffe . '& .· t.'~. · ," ··'·'. Pierre Joseph Bedard December 6, 1991 " Best Wishes " come down and take a look at them. These wonderful animals are badly in need of a loving, responsible home. -{ Call 392-2273 for adoption or fostering, otto make a donation. Or call the Scarborough Humane Society at 757-3606. · Bless you, and thanks very much. Sincerely, Ruth Carrier THS Volunteer LOST: large black dog, newfoundland/labrador · ,· mix: "o suilivan"; Wed~' nesday · [)ecember 5tH; / Bathurst/Dundas· . Call Nora at 408-2818 or 363-DRUM. Please. ,. , .. ..
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#9108 - Dec 1991

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